Young Turks
Encyclopedia
The Young Turks were a coalition of various groups favouring reformation of the administration of the Ottoman Empire
. The movement was against the absolute monarchy
of the Ottoman Sultan and favoured a re-installation of the short-lived Kanûn-ı Esâsî
constitution. They established the second constitutional era
in 1908 with what would become known as the Young Turk Revolution
.
The term Young Turks referred to the members of Ottoman society who were progressive, modernist and opposed to the status quo. The movement built a rich tradition of dissent that shaped the intellectual, political and artistic life of the late Ottoman period generally transcendent to the decline
and dissolution
periods. Many Young Turks were not only active in the political arena, but were also artists, administrators, or scientists.
Many modern Turkish citizens glorify the Young Turks as a group that initiated the process of liberalization in what is now known as modern Turkey. Although certain sub sections of modern Turkish community still regard that the Young Turks were actually the perpetrators of the first coup d'état in modern Turkish History—1913 Bab-i Ali Baskini, it is widely believed among the Turkish community that their actions can be classified as of a progressive movement even by today's standards.
Thus, the term "Young Turks" has come to signify any groups or individuals inside an organization who are progressive and seek prominence and power.
along with all other forms of political dissent after the constitution was annulled by the Sultan. Like their Europe
an forerunners such as the Carbonari
, they typically formed cells, in which only one member might be connected to another cell.
The first congress of Ottoman Opposition was held on February 4, 1902, at 8 pm, at the house of Germain Antoin Lefevre-Pontalis. He was a member of the Institute France. The opposition was performed in compliance with the French government. It was closed to public. There were 47 delegates present. The Armenians wanted to have the conversations held in French, but other delegates rejected this proposition.
The Second congress of the Ottoman opposition took place in Paris, France in 1907. Opposition leaders including Ahmed Riza
, Sabahheddin Bey, and Khachatur Maloumian
of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
were in attendance. The goal was to unite all the parties, including the CUP, in order to bring about the revolution. However, varying positions on issues such as nationalism made unity among the factions impossible.
(CUP) as an organizational umbrella. They recruited individuals prepared to sacrifice themselves for the establishment of a constitutional monarchy
. In 1906, the Ottoman Freedom Society (OFS) was established in Thessalonica by Mehmed Talaat. The OFS actively recruited members from the Third Army base, among them Major Ismail Enver
. In September 1907, OFS announced they would be working with other organizations under the umbrella of CUP. In reality, the leadership of the OFS would exert significant control over the CUP.
. Czar Nicholas II and Franz Joseph
, who were both interested in the Balkans, started implementing policies, beginning in 1897, which bring on the last stages of the balkanization
process. By 1903, there were discussions on establishing administrative control by Russian and Austrian advisory boards in the Macedonian provinces. The House of Osman
was forced to accept this idea although for quite a while they were able to subvert its implementation. However, eventually, signs were showing this policy game coming to an end and on May 13, 1908, the leadership of the CUP, with the scale of its organization, having had increased their power to such a point, were able to say to the Sultan that the 'Dynasty will be in danger', if he were not to bring back the constitution. The Third Army in Macedonia on June 12, 1908 begins its march to the Palace and on July 24, 1908 the constitution is restored.
With the Committee of Union and Progress
coming out of the election box the unity among the Young Turks that was originated from the Young Turk Revolution
replaced itself with the realities of the Ottoman Empire
. The details of the political events can be found under Second Constitutional Era
, while the details of the military events can be found under Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire
.
Jakob Künzler, head of a missionary hospital in Urfa, has documented the large scale ethnic cleansing
of both Armenians and Kurds by the Young Turks during World War I. He has given a detailed account of deportation of Kurds from Erzurum and Bitlis in winter of 1916. The Kurds were perceived to be subversive elements that would take the Russian side in the war. In order to eliminate this threat, Young Turks embarked on a large scale deportation of Kurds from the regions of Djabachdjur, Palu, Musch, Erzurum and Bitlis. Around 300,000 Kurds were forced to move southwards to Urfa and then westwards to Aintab and Marasch. In the summer of 1917, Kurds were moved to the Konya region in central Anatolia. Through these measures, the Young Turk leaders aimed at eliminating the Kurds by deporting them from their ancestral lands and by dispersing them in small pockets of exiled communities. By the end of World War I, up to 700,000 Kurds were forcibly deported and almost half of the displaced perished.
Around this period, the Young Turks relationship to the Armenian Genocide
shifted. Early on, the Armenians had perceived the Young Turks as allies; and the beginnings of the Genocide, in the 1909 Adana Massacre
, had been rooted in Ottoman backlash against the Young Turks. But during World War I, the Young Turks increasing nationalism began to lead them to participate in the Genocide. In 2005, the International Association of Genocide Scholars
affirmed that scholarly evidence revealed the "Young Turk government of the Ottoman Empire began a systematic genocide of its Armenian citizens – an unarmed Christian minority population. More than a million Armenians were exterminated through direct killing, starvation, torture, and forced death marches." The IAGS also condemned Turkish attempts to deny the factual and moral reality of the Armenian Genocide.
. The Young Turks did adopt liberal ideas, and under the influence of the theories of Gustave Le Bon
, they devalued parliaments as hazardous bodies.
played no consequential role. In this ultra-secular and somewhat materialistic
structure, science
was to replace religion. However, the Young Turks soon recognized the difficulty of spreading this idea and began suggesting that Islam
itself was materialistic. As compared with later efforts by Muslim
intellectuals, such as the attempt to reconcile Islam and socialism
, this was an extremely difficult endeavor. Although some former members of the CUP continued to make efforts in this field after the revolution
of 1908, they were severely denounced by the Ulema
, who accused them of "trying to change Islam into another form and create a new religion while calling it Islam".
Positivism
, with its claim of being a religion of science, deeply impressed the Young Turks, who believed it could be more easily reconciled with Islam than could popular materialistic theories. The name of the society, Union and Progress, is believed to be inspired by leading positivist Auguste Comte
's motto Order and Progress. Positivism also served as a base for the desired strong government.
or anarchism
.
Another result of the 1908 Young Turk Revolution
was the gradual creation of a new governing elite, which had consolidated and cemented its control over the Ottoman civil and military administration by 1913.
As empire-savers the Young Turks always viewed the problems confronting the Ottoman Empire from the standpoint of the state, placing little if any emphasis on the people's will. Thus the Young Turks' inclination toward authoritarian theories was by no means a coincidence. All the theories that the Young Turks developed and took particular interest in, such as biological materialism, positivism
, Social Darwinism
, and Gustave Le Bon's elitism
, defended an enlightenment from above and opposed the idea of a supposed equality among fellow-citizens.
, the Young Turks underwent a gradual transformation. Beginning with the Tanzimat
with ethnically non-Turkish members participating at the outset, the Young Turks embraced the official state ideology: Ottomanism
. However, Ottoman patriotism failed to strike root during the first constitutional era
and the following years. Many ethnically non-Turkish
Ottoman intellectuals rejected the idea because of its exclusive use of Turkish symbols. Turkish nationalists gradually gained the upper hand in politics, and following the 1902 Congress, a stronger focus on nationalism developed. It was at this time that Ahmed Riza
chose to replace the term "Ottoman" with "Turk". However, it was not until 1904 that nationalism came to be based on a scientific theory, and following the Japan
ese victory over Russia
, the Young Turks began to base their nationalism on the pseudo-scientific race theories of Europe.
Except for the shift in focus on nationalism, the official ideology of the early modern Turkish state was shaped during this period. The Young Turks who lived long enough to witness the coming into being of the Republic of Turkey
saw many of their ideals realized – it was a regime based on a popular materialistic-positivist ideology. The effect of the Young Turks on shaping the official ideology of early modern Turkey
went far beyond the political changes they brought about.
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. The movement was against the absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, his or her power not being limited by a constitution or by the law. An absolute monarch thus wields unrestricted political power over the...
of the Ottoman Sultan and favoured a re-installation of the short-lived Kanûn-ı Esâsî
Kanûn-i Esâsî
The Ottoman constitution of 1876 was the first constitution of the Ottoman Empire. Written by members of the Young Ottomans, particularly Midhat Pasha, during the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II , the constitution was only in effect for two years, from 1876 to 1878.A large part of the reason for the...
constitution. They established the second constitutional era
Second Constitutional Era (Ottoman Empire)
The Second Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire began shortly after Sultan Abdülhamid II restored the constitutional monarchy after the 1908 Young Turk Revolution. The period established many political groups...
in 1908 with what would become known as the Young Turk Revolution
Young Turk Revolution
The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 reversed the suspension of the Ottoman parliament by Sultan Abdul Hamid II, marking the onset of the Second Constitutional Era...
.
The term Young Turks referred to the members of Ottoman society who were progressive, modernist and opposed to the status quo. The movement built a rich tradition of dissent that shaped the intellectual, political and artistic life of the late Ottoman period generally transcendent to the decline
Decline of the Ottoman Empire
The Decline of the Ottoman Empire is the period that followed after the Stagnation of the Ottoman Empire in which the empire experienced several economic and political setbacks. Directly affecting the Empire at this time was Russian imperialism...
and dissolution
Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire
The Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire included the watershed events of the Young Turk Revolution and the establishment of the Second Constitutional Era, and ended with the Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire by the victorious sides of World War I.- Establishment of the Second Constitutional Era, 24...
periods. Many Young Turks were not only active in the political arena, but were also artists, administrators, or scientists.
Many modern Turkish citizens glorify the Young Turks as a group that initiated the process of liberalization in what is now known as modern Turkey. Although certain sub sections of modern Turkish community still regard that the Young Turks were actually the perpetrators of the first coup d'état in modern Turkish History—1913 Bab-i Ali Baskini, it is widely believed among the Turkish community that their actions can be classified as of a progressive movement even by today's standards.
Thus, the term "Young Turks" has come to signify any groups or individuals inside an organization who are progressive and seek prominence and power.
Prominent Young Turks
The prominent leaders and ideologists included:- Pamphleteers and activists
- Yusuf AkçuraYusuf AkçuraYusuf Akçura was a prominent Tatar activist and ideologue of Turanism in the late Ottoman Empire.-Biography:He was born in Ulyanovsk, Russia to a Tatar family and lived there until he and his mother emigrated to Turkey when he was seven...
(1876–1935) a Tatar, journalist with a secular nationalNationalismNationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
ideology, who was against OttomanismOttomanismOttomanism was a concept which developed prior to the First Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire. Its proponents believed that it could solve the social issues that the empire was facing. Ottomanism was highly affected by thinkers such as Montesquieu and Rousseau and the French Revolution. It...
and supported separation in religion and social life. - Ayetullah BeyAyetullah BeyAyetullah Bey was the founder and second Chairman of Türkiye Süper Ligi giant Fenerbahçe SK between 1908-09. He is also played for the club. He graduated from Galatasaray High School.- External links :*...
- Nuri Bey
- Osman Hamdi BeyOsman Hamdi BeyOsman Hamdi Bey was an Ottoman statesman, intellectual, art expert and also a prominent and pioneering Turkish painter. He was also an accomplished archaeologist, and is considered as the pioneer of the museum curator's profession in Turkey...
(1842–1910), painter and owner of the first specialized art school in Istanbul (1883). - Refik Bey
- Emmanuel Carasso EfendiEmmanuel CarassoEmmanuel Carasso or Emanuel Karasu was a lawyer and a member of the prominent Sephardic Jewish Carasso family of Ottoman Salonica . He was a prominent member of the Young Turks. The name is also spelled Karaso, Karassu, and Karasso...
, a lawyer and a member of the prominent Sephardic JewishSephardi JewsSephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
Carasso family. - Mehmet Cavit BeyMehmet Cavit BeyMehmet Cavit Bey, Mehmed Cavid Bey or Mehmed Djavid Bey was an Ottoman Sabbateaneconomist, newspaper editor and leading politician during the last period of the Ottoman Empire. A member of the Committee of Union and Progress , he was part of the Young Turks and had positions in government after...
(1875–1926) a DönmehDönmehDönmeh refers to a group of crypto-Jews in the Ottoman Empire and present-day Turkey who openly affiliated with Islam and secretly practiced a form of Judaism called Sabbateanism...
from Thessalonica, Jewish by ancestry but MuslimMuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
by religion since the 17th century, who was Minister of Finance. He was hanged for treason in 1926. - Abdullah CevdetAbdullah CevdetAbdullah Cevdet ) was an Ottoman intellectual and a medical doctor by profession of Kurdish descent...
, a supporter of biological materialismMaterialismIn philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
, who later in his life promoted the Bahá'í FaithBahá'í FaithThe Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
. - Marcel Samuel Raphael Cohen (aka Tekin AlpTekin AlpMoiz Cohen , who later changed his name to Munis Tekinalp, was born to a Jewish family in Serres. He was sent for schooling in the Alliance Israelite Univeselle school in Salonica, continuing for a rabbinical ordination . He would later continue to legal studies in Salonica, completing them in...
) (1883–1961), born to a Jewish family in Salonica under Ottoman control (now ThessalonikiThessalonikiThessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
), became one of the founding fathers of Turkish nationalism and an ideologue of Pan-TurkismPan-TurkismPan-Turkism is a nationalist movement that emerged in 1880s among the Turkic intellectuals of the Russian Empire, with the aim of cultural and political unification of all Turkic peoples.-Name:...
. - Lewis Daly (1866–1921) a radical anthropologist specializing in Turkish peasantry.
- Agah EfendiAgah EfendiÇapanzade orÇapanoğlu Agah Efendi was an Ottoman who published the first Turkish-language newspaper and introduced postage stamps to the Ottoman Empire. He is further known as being a member of the Young Turks. He was born son of Çapanzade Ömer Hulûsi Efendi in Yozgat. He was educated at...
(1832–1885) founded the first Turkish newspaper and, as postmasterPostmasterA postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...
, brought the postage stampPostage stampA postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
to the Ottoman EmpireOttoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. - Ziya GökalpZiya GökalpZiya Gökalp was a Turkish sociologist, writer, poet, and political activist. In 1908, after the Young Turk revolution, he adopted the pen name Gökalp , which he retained for the rest of his life...
(1875–1924), a Turkish nationalist from DiyarbakirDiyarbakirDiyarbakır is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey...
, publicistPublicistA publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album...
and pioneer sociologist, influenced by modern Western European cultureWestern cultureWestern culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
. - Talaat Pasha, whose role before the revolution is not clear.
- Ahmed RizaAhmed RizaAhmed Riza Bey was a prominent Young Turk, an activist, scientist and the minister of Education from the Liberal Union party during the second Constitutional Era in the Ottoman Empire. In 1908, his name was among the possible Grand Viziers...
(1859–1930), worked to improve the condition of the Ottoman peasantry. He served as minister of agriculture, and later ministry of education.
- Yusuf Akçura
- Military officers
- Resat Bey
- Enver Pasha
1889–1906
The Young Turks originated from groups of so-called "Progressive" university students. They were driven undergroundUnderground resistance
Underground resistance may refer to*Underground Resistance , a musical collective from Detroit, Michigan*Underground resistance during World War II, the inhabitants of various locales resisting the rule of the Nazis, the Empire of Japan, and Mussolini...
along with all other forms of political dissent after the constitution was annulled by the Sultan. Like their Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an forerunners such as the Carbonari
Carbonari
The Carbonari were groups of secret revolutionary societies founded in early 19th-century Italy. The Italian Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in Spain, France, Portugal and possibly Russia. Although their goals often had a patriotic and liberal focus, they lacked a...
, they typically formed cells, in which only one member might be connected to another cell.
Congress of Ottoman Opposition
The Second congress of the Ottoman opposition took place in Paris, France in 1907. Opposition leaders including Ahmed Riza
Ahmed Riza
Ahmed Riza Bey was a prominent Young Turk, an activist, scientist and the minister of Education from the Liberal Union party during the second Constitutional Era in the Ottoman Empire. In 1908, his name was among the possible Grand Viziers...
, Sabahheddin Bey, and Khachatur Maloumian
Khachatur Maloumian
Khachatur Maloumian was a Dashnak; editor of Mushak and Droshak.He was one of the leaders that organized an assembly of forces, under the umbrella name Committee of Union and Progress to oppose the Abdul Hamid II, form what is called as Young Turk Revolution with resulting in the proclamation of...
of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Armenian Revolutionary Federation
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation is an Armenian political party founded in Tiflis in 1890 by Christapor Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, and Simon Zavarian...
were in attendance. The goal was to unite all the parties, including the CUP, in order to bring about the revolution. However, varying positions on issues such as nationalism made unity among the factions impossible.
1906–1908
The Young Turks became a truly organized movement with the Committee of Union and ProgressCommittee of Union and Progress
The Committee of Union and Progress began as a secret society established as the "Committee of Ottoman Union" in 1889 by the medical students İbrahim Temo, Abdullah Cevdet, İshak Sükuti and Ali Hüseyinzade...
(CUP) as an organizational umbrella. They recruited individuals prepared to sacrifice themselves for the establishment of a constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
. In 1906, the Ottoman Freedom Society (OFS) was established in Thessalonica by Mehmed Talaat. The OFS actively recruited members from the Third Army base, among them Major Ismail Enver
Ismail Enver
Enver Pasha or Ismail Enver Pasha , title was changed with his military ranks such as Enver Efendi , Enver Bey , Enver Pasha, higher than Mirliva) was an Ottoman military officer and a leader of the Young Turk revolution...
. In September 1907, OFS announced they would be working with other organizations under the umbrella of CUP. In reality, the leadership of the OFS would exert significant control over the CUP.
The Young Turk Revolution
In 1908, the 'Macedonian Question' was facing the Ottoman EmpireOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. Czar Nicholas II and Franz Joseph
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
, who were both interested in the Balkans, started implementing policies, beginning in 1897, which bring on the last stages of the balkanization
Balkanization
Balkanization, or Balkanisation, is a geopolitical term, originally used to describe the process of fragmentation or division of a region or state into smaller regions or states that are often hostile or non-cooperative with each other, and it is considered pejorative.The term refers to the...
process. By 1903, there were discussions on establishing administrative control by Russian and Austrian advisory boards in the Macedonian provinces. The House of Osman
House of Osman
House of Osman was the name of the administrative structure of the Ottoman Dynasty, part of the state organization of the Ottoman Empire but nonetheless directly linked to the dynasty...
was forced to accept this idea although for quite a while they were able to subvert its implementation. However, eventually, signs were showing this policy game coming to an end and on May 13, 1908, the leadership of the CUP, with the scale of its organization, having had increased their power to such a point, were able to say to the Sultan that the 'Dynasty will be in danger', if he were not to bring back the constitution. The Third Army in Macedonia on June 12, 1908 begins its march to the Palace and on July 24, 1908 the constitution is restored.
Constitutional Era
Committee of Union and Progress
The Committee of Union and Progress began as a secret society established as the "Committee of Ottoman Union" in 1889 by the medical students İbrahim Temo, Abdullah Cevdet, İshak Sükuti and Ali Hüseyinzade...
coming out of the election box the unity among the Young Turks that was originated from the Young Turk Revolution
Young Turk Revolution
The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 reversed the suspension of the Ottoman parliament by Sultan Abdul Hamid II, marking the onset of the Second Constitutional Era...
replaced itself with the realities of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. The details of the political events can be found under Second Constitutional Era
Second Constitutional Era (Ottoman Empire)
The Second Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire began shortly after Sultan Abdülhamid II restored the constitutional monarchy after the 1908 Young Turk Revolution. The period established many political groups...
, while the details of the military events can be found under Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire
Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire
The Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire included the watershed events of the Young Turk Revolution and the establishment of the Second Constitutional Era, and ended with the Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire by the victorious sides of World War I.- Establishment of the Second Constitutional Era, 24...
.
1914–1917 period: Armenian Genocide and WWI
On November 2, 1914, the Ottoman Empire entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers. The Middle Eastern theatre of World War I became the scene of action. The combatants were the Ottoman Empire, with some assistance from the other Central Powers, and primarily the British and the Russians among the Allies of World War I. The conflicts at the Caucasus Campaign, the Persian Campaign and the Gallipoli Campaign affected where the Armenian people lived in significant amounts. Before the declaration of war at the Armenian congress at Erzurum the Ottoman government requested from Ottoman Armenians to facilitate the conquest of Transcaucasia by inciting a rebellion with the Russian Armenians against the tsarist army in the event of an Caucasian Front.[50][51]Jakob Künzler, head of a missionary hospital in Urfa, has documented the large scale ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
of both Armenians and Kurds by the Young Turks during World War I. He has given a detailed account of deportation of Kurds from Erzurum and Bitlis in winter of 1916. The Kurds were perceived to be subversive elements that would take the Russian side in the war. In order to eliminate this threat, Young Turks embarked on a large scale deportation of Kurds from the regions of Djabachdjur, Palu, Musch, Erzurum and Bitlis. Around 300,000 Kurds were forced to move southwards to Urfa and then westwards to Aintab and Marasch. In the summer of 1917, Kurds were moved to the Konya region in central Anatolia. Through these measures, the Young Turk leaders aimed at eliminating the Kurds by deporting them from their ancestral lands and by dispersing them in small pockets of exiled communities. By the end of World War I, up to 700,000 Kurds were forcibly deported and almost half of the displaced perished.
Around this period, the Young Turks relationship to the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
shifted. Early on, the Armenians had perceived the Young Turks as allies; and the beginnings of the Genocide, in the 1909 Adana Massacre
Adana massacre
The Adana massacre occurred in Adana Province, in the Ottoman Empire, in April 1909. An massacre of Armenian Christians in the city of Adana amidst governmental upheaval resulted in a series of anti-Armenian pogroms throughout the district...
, had been rooted in Ottoman backlash against the Young Turks. But during World War I, the Young Turks increasing nationalism began to lead them to participate in the Genocide. In 2005, the International Association of Genocide Scholars
International Association of Genocide Scholars
The International Association of Genocide Scholars is a global, interdisciplinary, non-partisan organization that seeks to further research and teaching about the nature, causes, and consequences of genocide, and advance policy studies on prevention of genocide. The Association, founded in 1994 by...
affirmed that scholarly evidence revealed the "Young Turk government of the Ottoman Empire began a systematic genocide of its Armenian citizens – an unarmed Christian minority population. More than a million Armenians were exterminated through direct killing, starvation, torture, and forced death marches." The IAGS also condemned Turkish attempts to deny the factual and moral reality of the Armenian Genocide.
Liberalism
The European public and many scholars commonly labeled the Young Turks as liberalsLiberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
. The Young Turks did adopt liberal ideas, and under the influence of the theories of Gustave Le Bon
Gustave Le Bon
Gustave Le Bon was a French social psychologist, sociologist, and amateur physicist...
, they devalued parliaments as hazardous bodies.
Materialism and positivism
Another guiding principle for the Young Turks was the transformation of their society into one in which religionReligion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
played no consequential role. In this ultra-secular and somewhat materialistic
Materialism
In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
structure, science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
was to replace religion. However, the Young Turks soon recognized the difficulty of spreading this idea and began suggesting that Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
itself was materialistic. As compared with later efforts by Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
intellectuals, such as the attempt to reconcile Islam and socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, this was an extremely difficult endeavor. Although some former members of the CUP continued to make efforts in this field after the revolution
Young Turk Revolution
The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 reversed the suspension of the Ottoman parliament by Sultan Abdul Hamid II, marking the onset of the Second Constitutional Era...
of 1908, they were severely denounced by the Ulema
Ulema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
, who accused them of "trying to change Islam into another form and create a new religion while calling it Islam".
Positivism
Positivism
Positivism is a a view of scientific methods and a philosophical approach, theory, or system based on the view that, in the social as well as natural sciences, sensory experiences and their logical and mathematical treatment are together the exclusive source of all worthwhile information....
, with its claim of being a religion of science, deeply impressed the Young Turks, who believed it could be more easily reconciled with Islam than could popular materialistic theories. The name of the society, Union and Progress, is believed to be inspired by leading positivist Auguste Comte
Auguste Comte
Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte , better known as Auguste Comte , was a French philosopher, a founder of the discipline of sociology and of the doctrine of positivism...
's motto Order and Progress. Positivism also served as a base for the desired strong government.
Centralised government
During the late Ottoman Empire, all the intellectuals were state officials, and all Young Turks were on Empire payroll. Their participation in the government apparently had led them to value state. They were reluctant to approach theories against the state, such as MarxismMarxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
or anarchism
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
.
Another result of the 1908 Young Turk Revolution
Young Turk Revolution
The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 reversed the suspension of the Ottoman parliament by Sultan Abdul Hamid II, marking the onset of the Second Constitutional Era...
was the gradual creation of a new governing elite, which had consolidated and cemented its control over the Ottoman civil and military administration by 1913.
As empire-savers the Young Turks always viewed the problems confronting the Ottoman Empire from the standpoint of the state, placing little if any emphasis on the people's will. Thus the Young Turks' inclination toward authoritarian theories was by no means a coincidence. All the theories that the Young Turks developed and took particular interest in, such as biological materialism, positivism
Positivism
Positivism is a a view of scientific methods and a philosophical approach, theory, or system based on the view that, in the social as well as natural sciences, sensory experiences and their logical and mathematical treatment are together the exclusive source of all worthwhile information....
, Social Darwinism
Social Darwinism
Social Darwinism is a term commonly used for theories of society that emerged in England and the United States in the 1870s, seeking to apply the principles of Darwinian evolution to sociology and politics...
, and Gustave Le Bon's elitism
Elitism
Elitism is the belief or attitude that some individuals, who form an elite — a select group of people with intellect, wealth, specialized training or experience, or other distinctive attributes — are those whose views on a matter are to be taken the most seriously or carry the most...
, defended an enlightenment from above and opposed the idea of a supposed equality among fellow-citizens.
Nationalism
In regards to nationalismNationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
, the Young Turks underwent a gradual transformation. Beginning with the Tanzimat
Tanzimat
The Tanzimât , meaning reorganization of the Ottoman Empire, was a period of reformation that began in 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. The Tanzimât reform era was characterized by various attempts to modernize the Ottoman Empire, to secure its territorial integrity against...
with ethnically non-Turkish members participating at the outset, the Young Turks embraced the official state ideology: Ottomanism
Ottomanism
Ottomanism was a concept which developed prior to the First Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire. Its proponents believed that it could solve the social issues that the empire was facing. Ottomanism was highly affected by thinkers such as Montesquieu and Rousseau and the French Revolution. It...
. However, Ottoman patriotism failed to strike root during the first constitutional era
First Constitutional Era (Ottoman Empire)
The First Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire was the period of constitutional monarchy from the promulgation of the Kanûn-ı Esâsî , written by members of the Young Ottomans, on 23 November 1876 until 13 February 1878...
and the following years. Many ethnically non-Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
Ottoman intellectuals rejected the idea because of its exclusive use of Turkish symbols. Turkish nationalists gradually gained the upper hand in politics, and following the 1902 Congress, a stronger focus on nationalism developed. It was at this time that Ahmed Riza
Ahmed Riza
Ahmed Riza Bey was a prominent Young Turk, an activist, scientist and the minister of Education from the Liberal Union party during the second Constitutional Era in the Ottoman Empire. In 1908, his name was among the possible Grand Viziers...
chose to replace the term "Ottoman" with "Turk". However, it was not until 1904 that nationalism came to be based on a scientific theory, and following the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese victory over Russia
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
, the Young Turks began to base their nationalism on the pseudo-scientific race theories of Europe.
Effect on Republic of Turkey
The Young Turk movement created a certain degree of dissent and anarchy in order to shape intellectual and political life of the late Ottoman period, but they had constituted the foundations for Atatürk's revolution which had turned Turkey into one of the most progressive and modern states by the standards of the time (e.g. in terms of women's right to vote). Most of their leaders believed that the central government, but not the popular will which was embodied in uneducated, pre-industrial, feudal masses, was the instrument by which social and political change could be achieved through.Except for the shift in focus on nationalism, the official ideology of the early modern Turkish state was shaped during this period. The Young Turks who lived long enough to witness the coming into being of the Republic of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
saw many of their ideals realized – it was a regime based on a popular materialistic-positivist ideology. The effect of the Young Turks on shaping the official ideology of early modern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
went far beyond the political changes they brought about.
External links
- Committee of Union and Progress Turkey in the First World War website